Soda bottle cap

ABSTRACT

This present invention relates to a soda bottle cap having a shell with a spout and a flexible top, and a seal that has an opening through which liquid can flow out when the flexible top is pressed down. With the structure of this soda bottle cap it is possible to release the carbonated liquid from the soda bottle using the high pressure of CO 2  gas inside. When the flexible top is pressed down, the seal changes shape and does not block inner hole (6) so that the liquid in the bottle can be pushed out through the tube(12), and then through the center hole(9) of the seal, and then through channels (10) of the seal, and then through the inner hole (6) of the shell, and then through the spout (4) by the inner hole (6) of the shell, and then through the spout (40 by the high pressure of CO gas in the bottle. When the force on the flexible top (7) is released after use, the flexible top and the seal go back to its original shape.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to soda bottle cap of simple structure thatenables discharge of liquid from a soda bottle while keeping highpressure gas inside to maintain the carbonated taste of liquid until itis consumed.

2. Background

Because the commonly used cap for soda bottle that contains carbonatedliquid, such as cola, cider, and beer, is simply made of shell (1) andseal (2) as is shown in FIG. 1, the cap should be removed from thebottle (3) before the liquid can be poured from the bottle. As soon asthe cap is opened, the high pressure CO₂ gas inside the bottle isreleased from the bottle. When the cap is closed after use, the spaceabove the carbonated liquid is slowly pressured again by the CO₂released from the carbonated liquid inside the bottle. When the cap isopened again to pour out the liquid from the bottle, the high pressureCO₂ gas is lost again as this opening and closing of the cap isrepeated, the CO₂ gas that is dissolved in the carbonated liquid is lostrepeatedly, the carbonated taste of carbonated liquid becomes weak, andthe liquid turns stale and flat.

To avoid such problems the soda bottle cap of this invention enablesrelease of liquid from a soda bottle while keeping high pressure up. Thesoda bottle cap of this invention can be manufactured easily for lostcost as it has simple structure and, therefore, can be used widely onsoda bottles for general consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The basic structure of soda bottle cap of this invention consists of ashell that has a spout and a flexible top, and a seal that has anopening through which liquid can flow out when the flexible top ispressed down. The detailed description of the invention is presentedreferring to figures as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a common soda bottle cap. It is simply made of a shell and aseal, and is placed on a soda bottle.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a first embodiment of the present inventiondisclosing the shell of the soda bottle cap which has an inner hole (6)which connects to a spout (4), through which liquid can flow out, aflexible top (7) that can be pressed down, and a protective shoulder (8)around the flexible top that keeps the flexible top from being presseddown accidentally during handling.

FIG. 3 illustrates a part of the seal that is cut away so that thestructure of the seal can be better apprehended. The top of the seal haschannels (10) through which liquid can flow. The seal also has a centerhole (9) and a tube holder (11) that can hold a tube.

FIG. 4 shows the shell and the seal, placed on a soda bottle. Though thespout (4) is open, as the end of it is broken along notch (5), theliquid can not be discharged from the bottle because the seal is pressedtightly against the inner hole (6) of the shell due to the high pressureof CO₂ gas in the bottle.

FIG. 5 illustrates the shape change of the soda bottle cap of FIG. 4,when the flexible top (7) of the shell is pressed down. As the seal doesnot block the inner hole (6) of the shell any more, the liquid in thesoda bottle can be pushed out by the high internal pressure of thebottle.

FIG. 6 illustrates another embodiment of the shell of the soda bottlecap of the present invention in which it has a wider inner hole (13) anda ridge (14) around the wider inner hole. Also the spout of this shellhas a spout cap at the end, and a thread near the notch (5).

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the spout in which has atriangular inner hole (15).

FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of the seal that has ribs (16)where a part of the seal is cut away so that the structure of the sealcan be better apprehended. Due to the ribs (16) the seal can return tothe original state more readily when force on the flexible top (7) isreleased.

FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the soda bottle cap of thepresent invention. The plug type seal (19) has a plug hole (21) in thecenter and the shell has a plug type flexible top (17) that has a plugholder (18) in the center which holds a plug (20).

FIG. 10 illustrates the shape change of the soda bottle cap that wasdescribed in the FIG. 9, when the plug type flexible to (17) is presseddown.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the soda bottle cap of theinvention. The lid valve type seal (24) has a lid valve (25) in thecenter.

FIG. 12 shows the shape change of the soda bottle cap that was describedin the FIG. 11, when the lid valve type flexible top (22) is presseddown. The liquid in the soda bottle can be pushed out through theopening of the lid valve type seal (24) by the high internal pressure ofthe bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 shows one example of the shell of the soda bottle cap of theinvention. The shell has an inner hole (6) which connects to a spout(4), through which liquid can flow out, a flexible top (7) that can bepressed down, and a protective shoulder (8) around the flexible top thatkeeps the flexible top from being pressed down accidentally duringhandling. As the spout has a closed end, it should be broken at thenotch (5) before it can be used.

FIG. 3 is one example of the seal of the soda bottle cap of theinvention. In the drawing, a part of the seal is cut away so that thestructure of the seal can be better apprehended. The seal has channels(10), a center hole (9), and a tube holder (11) that can hold a tube.Liquid can flow out through the center hole (9), and then through thechannels (10) of the seal.

FIG. 4 shows the soda bottle cap, comprising a shell and the seal,placed on a soda bottle. Though the spout (4) is open, as the end of itis broken along the notch (5), the liquid can not be discharged from thebottle because the seal is pressed tightly against the inner hole (6) ofthe shell due to the high pressure of CO₂ gas in the soda bottle.

FIG. 5 shows the shape change of the soda bottle cap when the flexibletop (7) of the shell is pressed down. As the seal does not block theinner hole (6) of the shell any more, the liquid in the soda bottle canbe pushed out through the tube (12), and then through the center hole(9) of the seal, and then through the channel (10) of the seal, and thenthrough the inner hole (6) of the shell, and then through the spout (4)of the shell by the high internal pressure of the bottle.

When the flexible top (7) of the shell is not pressed down any more, theflexible top and the seal go back to the original shape due to their ownelasticity and due to internal pressure, and then the seal is pressedtightly against the inner hole (6) of the shell due to the high pressureof CO₂ gas in the soda bottle, and the liquid can not flow any more.

FIG. 6 shows another example of the shell of the soda bottle cap of theinvention, which has a wider inner hole (13) and a ridge (14) around thewider inner hole. Because the wider inner hole (13) is bigger than theprevious inner hole (6), the seal receives larger force from the highpressure CO₂ gas. Because of the wider diameter of the wider inner hole(13) and the ridge (14), the seal can block the wider inner hole (13)more effectively. Also the spout of this shell has a spout cap at theend, and a thread near the notch (5). After the spout cap is detachedalong the notch, it can be used to close the spout for furthersafekeeping.

FIG. 7 shows separately another example of the spout that has atriangular inner hole (15). With the triangular inner hole it is easierto control the flow of liquid as the triangular inner hole starts toopen more slowly than the circular inner hole when the seal bends downand separates itself from the inner hole.

FIG. 8 shows another example of the seal that has ribs (16). In thedrawing, a part of the seal is cut away so that the structure of theseal can be better apprehended. Due to the ribs (16) the seal can returnto the original state more readily when force on the flexible top (7) isreleased. With the ribs the part of the seal where it contacts with theinner hole of the shell can be made thinner to have better contact withthe inner hole.

FIG. 9 shows another example of the soda bottle cap of the invention.The plug type seal (19) has a plug hole (21) in the center and the shellhas a plug type flexible top (17) that has a plug holder (18) in thecenter which holds a plug (20). Even when the spout is open, the liquidcan not flow out because the plug (20) is pushed tightly against theplug hole (21) due to the high pressure of CO₂ gas in the soda bottle.

FIG. 10 shows the shape change of the soda bottle cap that was describedin FIG. 9, when the plug type flexible top (17) is pressed down. As theplug (20) is pushed down and does not block the plug hole (21) any more,the liquid in the soda bottle can be pushed out through the tube (12),and then through the plug hole (21) of the seal, and then through theinner hole (6) of the shell, and then through the spout (4) of the shellby the high internal pressure of the bottle. As the force on the plugtype flexible top (17) is released, the plug type flexible top returnsto the original shape due to its own elasticity and due to the highinternal pressure, and the plug (20) held by the plug holder (18) israised against the plug hole (21) and then pushed tightly against theplug hold due to the high pressure of CO₂ gas in the soda bottle, andthe liquid can not flow out any more.

FIG. 11 shows another example of the soda bottle cap of the invention.The lid valve type seal (24) has a lid valve (25) in the center whichwas formed by slant cut. As the lid valve (25) is pushed tightly againstthe lid valve type seal (24) due to the high pressure of CO₂ gas in thesoda bottle, the liquid can not flow out even when the spout is open.

FIG. 12 shows the shape change of the soda bottle cap that was describedin the FIG. 11, when the lid valve type flexible top (22) is presseddown. As the lid valve (25) is pushed down by the rod (23) that isformed downward at the center of the lid valve type flexible top (22)and the lid valve (25) does not close the lid valve type seal (24) anymore, the liquid in the soda bottle can be pushed out through the type(12), and then through the opening of the lid valve type seal (24), andthen through the inner hole (6) of the shell, and then through the spout(4) of the shell by the high internal pressure of the bottle. As theforce on the lid valve type flexible top (22) is released, the lid valvetype flexible top (22) returns to the original shape due to its ownelasticity and due to the high internal pressure, and the lid valve (25)that was pressed down by the rod (23) returns to the original shape andthen pushed tightly against the lid valve type seal (24) due to the highpressure of CO₂ gas in the soda bottle, and the liquid can not flow outany more.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The soda bottle cap comprising a shell that has a flexible top (7), aprotective shoulder (8), a spout (4), a notch (5) on the spout, a threadnear the notch, a spout cap at the end of the spout, a triangular innerhole (15), and a ridge around the triangular inner hole, and a compliantseal that has a center hole (9), channels (10), a tube holder (11), andribs (16) should be the best combination to carry out this invention asit has simple structure and therefore can be made for low cost. Afterthe spout cap is detached along the notch, it can be used to close thespout for further safekeeping. Also, the soda bottle cap can be usedwithout the tube (12) to prevent accidental discharge of liquid when theflexible top is pressed down by mistake. In this case the soda bottlecap and bottle assembly should be held upside down when the flexible topis pressed to discharge the liquid from the bottle.

Applicability

As the soda bottle cap of this invention has simple structure, it can bemass produced for low cost. Therefore, it can be widely used oncarbonated liquid bottles to maintain the carbonated taste of the liquiduntil it is consumed.

We claim:
 1. A soda bottle cap including a shell and a seal,comprising:said shell having a flexible top, a protective shoulderdisposed around said flexible top, and a spout having a closed end and anotch on the spout for breaking said closed end easily before use, saidshell further having an inner hole that connects to said spout. saidseal having a center hole having a longitudinal axis, ribs, a tubeholder for holding a tube aligned along the longitudinal axis of saidcenter hole, and channels defined above said tube holder, said sealbeing made of compliant material so that said seal can be pressedagainst said inner hole by an internal pressure of a soda bottle whenthere is no force on said flexible top of the shell and so that the sealcan be bent down and separated from the inner hole of the shell when theflexible top is pressed down so that fluid can flow out from said centerhole and through said channels of said seal.
 2. The soda bottle cap asdefined in claim 1 wherein said shell has a triangular inner hole andridge around the triangular inner hole.
 3. A soda bottle cap accordingto claim 1 further including a shell, a plug, and a seal comprising saidshell having a flexible top having a center and a plug holder in saidcenter that holds a plug and presses down the plug to form an opening atthe plug hole of the seal when the flexible top is pressed down, aprotective shoulder around the flexible top, a closed end spout, a notchon the spout to break the end of the spout before use, and an inner holethat connects to the spout, and the seal has a plug hole and a tubeholder.
 4. A soda bottle cap according to claim 1 further comprisingsaid seal having a lid valve in its center, the tube holder, and theshell having a flexible top that has a downward rod that can press downand open the lid valve of the seal when the flexible top is presseddown, the protective shoulder around the flexible top, a closed endspout, a notch on the spout to break the end of the spout easily beforeuse, and an inner hole that connects to the spout.
 5. The soda bottlecap as defined in claim 1, wherein the said spout has a male threadformed near the notch towards the body of the shell and a spout cap withfemale thread formed at the end of the spout so that the spout cap canbe used to close the end of the spout for further safekeeping after thespout cap is detached from the spout at the notch.
 6. The soda bottlecap as claimed in claim 3 wherein the spout has a male thread formednear the notch towards the body of the shell and a spout cap with femalethread formed at the end of the spout so that the spout cap can be usedto close the end of the spout for further safekeeping after the spoutcap is detached from the spout at the notch.
 7. The soda bottle cap asclaimed in claim 4 wherein the spout has a male thread formed near thenotch towards the body of the shell and a spout cap with female threadformed at the end of the spout so that the spout cap can be used toclose the end of the spout for further safekeeping after the spout capis detached from the spout at the notch.